The Spider Lodge, a secret high council, is the ultimate ruler of Aar, the capital city of the savage world of Core. Through intrigues and skillful machinations, the members of the Spider Lodge influence the six Guilds of the city, which hold key positions in its community structure. They have developed a subtle method called "Equilibrium" in which they influence the actions of the Guilds for their own purposes without being exposed by doing so. Take the role of an esteemed member of the Spider Lodge and try through careful planning to achieve "Equilibrium", destroy the plans of your opponents and claim for yourself the title of the High Counselor of Aar.

In each round of Intrigue City each player changes the influence that he and one of his opponents has on the Guilds of Aar. Influence Tokens of three different values (1, 2 & 3) represent each player’s control over a Guild. Perfect balance of influence - not too obvious, nor too weak - is achieved by having Influence Tokens with a total value of six on a Guild; this is called an Equilibrium. At the end of each round each player scores Equilibrium Cards for every Equilibrium he has managed to maintain up to that point. During the game players vote to increase the power of each Guild, also increasing the point value of that Guild’s Equilibrium Cards, affecting each player's final score.